The base of a 43-year-old pavilion in Mancos’s Boyle Park may seem like an unlikely canvas for a mural, but local artist Dai Salwen was up for the challenge.
“It was a real headscratcher,” Salwen said. “But head scratchers often create the best things … I was forced to be more creative.”
For a little over a week now, Salwen has been making their way around the concrete base of the pavilion, chalking up rough sketches of different flora and fauna to then paint over.
With 12 years of experience as a wilderness guide under their belt, Salwen started the mural by “making a list of my favorite friends and environments.”
They landed on river, mountain and desert ecosystems.
And as you walk around the pavilion, starting at its east-facing side and walking clockwise, the art reflects those respective environments.
Once Salwen divided the 80-foot-long stretch that is the base of the pavilion into those three ecosystems, they brainstormed appropriate flora and fauna and will eventually add identifying names and fun facts to make the mural interactive.
“It’s designed to be appealing to kids,” said Chelsea Lunders, the executive director of the Mancos Creative District, the nonprofit that worked with the town to make the project possible.
“And it’s great for kids, since it’s at the park at eye level,” said Lunders.
Salwen hopes kids and adults will find it “aesthetically pleasing.”
“I hope people walk away with excitement and connection to the wild ones,” said Salwen.
And new knowledge, too, from genuine engagement and an excitement to learn.
“When a kid sees a crow, they’ll realize, ‘Oh, it’s actually a raven,’ and here’s a cool fact about a raven,” said Salwen.
The underlying hope, then, is for “greater knowing and connection to beings we’re surrounded by here.”
Lunders said that she’s “excited about the timing” of the project.
“The local flora and fauna are coming to life as spring comes to life,” said Lunders.
In addition to local “wild ones,“ beside the ramp leading into the pavilion, Salwen painted the Mancos Valley Lions Club logo – it’s their pavilion, after all.
Valerie Hobson, the secretary at the Lions Club, explained how it was founded in 1982.
“That year, they built the pavilion in Boyle Park. It was one of the first things they did,” said Hobson.
To illustrate – quite literally – what the Lions Club does, Salwen incorporated service dogs and glasses into the mural, beside their logo.
A cornerstone mission of Lions Club International is to be “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness,” as Helen Keller challenged the group when she attended a convention in 1925, according to its website.
“Our local Lions Club, among other things, does sight testing for kids,” said Hobson.
For preschool to second graders, the Lions Club goes in and takes photos of their eyes, as “it can detect eye problems that are easily corrected when kids are young,” said Hobson.
It can also tell whether they need glasses, which the Lions Club can provide.
The service dog comes in, since the lions club supports Leader Dogs for the Blind.
“It’ll sure look a lot nicer than the peeling paint,” said Hobson.
Beneath the mural, to smooth over what little remains of the red paint, Salwen said they’ll paint it the same color as the concrete peeking through so it will “wear well.”
Salwen said they’re glad the pavilion in Boyle Park, which is a central space for community gatherings like Burro Fest – it’s “now a place of beauty.”
“For me, public art is the essence of how I want to share my gift,” Salwen said. “Public art means access to the beauty, excitement and expression for the community.”
Dai Salwen is based in Mancos and is reachable for private murals, other projects and “curiosities” at their website, practiceofhonoring.com.
